Some forms of mental illness are mainly due to genetic factors, some to history such as injury, intoxication, brain damage or effects of diseases, and some to Trauma of some kind. The causes of a disorder or specific symptoms are generally not exclusive, but can be Co-morbid [existing together], or arising from various sources together or over time.
So, while there may be a genetic pre-disposition to, for instance, Depression or Anxiety symptoms, there very often seems to be a Trauma component as well.
Such Trauma can be psychological or physical; it can be a single traumatic event or a related serious of events [such as being kidnaped and then raped or assaulted or imprisoned], or it can be ongoing over a long period of time [such as having a parent that constantly criticises one, or being bullied at school, or living in a war zone or during a period of famine, etc.].
Sometimes people try to get rid of the symptoms, or interpret the symptoms and their possible origins, without changing the pathways in the brain that the Trauma had caused. Relief then may be temporary and people may feel better for a little while after they received support or validation, but the feeling doesn't last, and the disorder [e.g. a personality disorder, or phobia, or anxiety] persists or re-surfaces over time, or when triggered by a familiar event or thought.
There are many ways to de-brief Trauma, and some change the "Macros" the trauma had "written" into the brain pathways more effectively than others. An Integrative Psychotherapy approach that includes a therapy called Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing [EMDR] with some Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy [CBT] and possibly other methods like Ego-strengthening Hypnosis, appears to work amazingly effectively.
An event like being gang-raped can be completely de-briefed in one or two sessions of about 100 minutes of EMDR without any further intervention, though more chronic forms of trauma may take several months of intervention for people to feel empowered and liberated.
For more information on EMDR, please read my article at www.selfgrow.co.za , or the international official web site www.emdria.org
